Isaiah Thomas: The Loneliness of Grief

Anderson Cooper· Host0:01

Welcome to All There Is. Wherever you are in your grief, you're not alone. I was talking with a friend of mine who doesn't listen to this podcast, and he's experienced a number of losses in his life, but he really doesn't wanna think much about them, which I certainly understand. He asked me, "Isn't it depressing to do all these interviews all the time?" And I thought about it for a moment, and then I told him the truth, which is it's not. It's sad often, it's emotional, but these are the most real conversations that I have with people. It's one human being connecting with and learning from another about a fundamental experience that we all share. My friend didn't really wanna hear more about it, but I was kind of on a roll, so I kept going. "But what is depressing to me," I said, "w- what's depressed me much of my life is not having these conversations except with myself in my head. The loneliness of that, that to me is what is depressing." I really love the conversation that you're about to hear. It's with Isaiah Thomas. He's a two-time NBA All-Star, and the fact that he's 5'9" makes that even more impressive. But what so impressed me about him is his willingness to speak about loss and his vulnerability. Two of Isaiah's three sisters have died. His sister Laquisha died in 2024, and his youngest sister China died in 2017 on the eve of the NBA playoffs. She was killed in a car crash in Washington State. She was about to turn 23. The day after China died, Isaiah played in game